Focal ductal branch dilatation on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography: a hint for early diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma.

A 63-year-old man with a combination of early pancreatic carcinoma and an intraductal papillary adenoma was reported. A pancreatic cyst was detected by chance at the head of the pancreas by computed tomography for a follow-up study of early rectal carcinoma previously operated. Detailed studies by endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) showed irregular narrowing of the main pancreatic duct at the pancreatic body and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) revealed dilatation of ductal branches draining there. Brushing cytology of the pancreatic duct demonstrated cancer cells and total pancreatectomy was performed. Stepwise histo-pathological examinations of the specimen showed two foci of invasive carcinoma in the neck and body and multiple foci of severe dysplasia, some of which contained carcinoma in situ, in the body of the pancreas. The cystic tumor in the head of the pancreas was an intraductal papillary adenoma. In this case, the scrutiny of a pancreatic cyst including MRCP and ERP led to an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Dilatation of ductal branches depicted by MRCP might be a new hint for early diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma.